Good golfers must master consistency in all aspects of the swing. Some of the most important are swing plane alignment, the alignment and path of the club head before and during the swing or stroke (hereafter generally referred to as “swing”), and the golfer's stance and body position before and throughout the swing.
Golf professionals are known to teach swing exercises using field-expedient swing guides, for example: laying club shafts on the ground for club head placement and path alignment; or sticking a club shaft into the ground or placing a golf bag at an angle behind the golfer to define a desired swing plane; or placing an empty cardboard box next to the swing path to be avoided during a swing. There are undoubtedly many more individual, homemade exercises such as these that have been taught to date.
At least some training devices have been specially built to help a golfer practice one or more of these exercises.
“The Plane Stick” by Swing Plane Enterprises has a telescoping, angle-adjustable aluminum rod and target line string mounted to a cross-shaped base. The rod is adjustable to different lengths and upright angles to define different swing planes, and has a foam-padded breakaway sleeve to prevent club damage or player injury in the case of contact with the rod.
The “Putting Track” by the Dave Pelz Corporation is a pair of curved, parallel, adjustably-spaced aluminum bars that provide a check for both putter path and face alignment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,712 and U.S. Published Application No. 2005/0197199 to Cardosi show a training device in the form of an L-shaped, two-part, multi-position arm extending from a raised frame at about knee to waist level, adjustable to different positions and angles to correct a number of common swing errors. In one version the frame includes a raised putting track with a slide that connects to a putter shaft, and a ground mat marked with putting, club face placement, ball placement, and foot placement lines. In another version the frame is a simple upright member extending from a small, unobtrusive base, and appears to be intended for use without the marked mat.
While the foregoing devices appear to work for their intended swing exercises, each appears to be relatively complex and expensive to make, and none (in this inventor's opinion) appears to be comprehensive in its ability to help a golfer practice the many common types of swing plane, stance, club placement, club path, and other professionally-taught full swing, chipping, and putting exercises on his own.